A study by the US think tank CSIS states that the United States may face shortages of certain types of weapons and ammunition. However, this will not be a problem for the American Armed Forces. The United States possesses more than enough interchangeable types of weapons.
Russian media, citing a new analytical report by the US Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), is busy disseminating yet another piece of disinformation about the allies’ military assistance to Ukraine. They predict a “bleak future” for the United States due to the military’s “catastrophically devastated military stockpiles”. According to Russian media, because of arms deliveries to Ukraine, the US “will not be able to rebuild its stockpiles for at least five years.”
“As military supplies to Ukraine continue, the problem of empty military depots will become more and more acute for the United States,” the EADaily website wrote.
On January 9, the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) published a report analyzing the US army’s weapons inventory against the background of increased arms supplies to Ukraine. The author of the study, Mark Cancian, does not forecast a “grim future” for the US because of “empty military depots” and most definitely does not talk about any “American defense capabilities decline.”
The CSIS analyst notes that amid active arms supplies to Ukraine the US may face shortages of six types of arms and ammunition. At the same time Cancian emphasizes that this will not be a problem for the American Armed Forces, who have more than enough interchangeable types of weapons. Among possible shortages Cancian singles out:
- 155mm ammunition
- 155 mm precision (Excalibur)
- Javelins
- High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
- Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS);
- Stingers
Cancian emphasizes that the United States is increasing production to avoid shortages of these weapons. The US also uses arms substitution, for example, instead of Javelins, Washington supplies Ukraine with no less effective TOW anti-tank missiles. Another way to avoid arms shortages is to purchase weapons from third countries, which the US “does with Czech T-72B tanks and South Korean 155 mm artillery projectiles.”
The study’s findings emphasizes that “most [US weapons] inventories are okay” and the above six systems “do not represent the full spectrum of US inventories,” which are much larger. The US Defense Department has “many tools” to address possible shortages of these six types of weapons and Ukraine will not face a reduction in military support, Mark Cancian concludes.
